Former In-House Atty May Take Whistleblower Claim To Trial

By Emily Sawicki

An Illinois state appellate panel has revived a whistleblower claim a medical device company's former in-house counsel lodged alleging he was fired for refusing to "hide or park" money in the intellectual property division's budget, while upholding the company's early win on other claims.

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Jason Isbell Says Suno Exploits Identities Like 'The Borg'

By Rae Ann Varona

Grammy winner Jason Isbell and several other musicians have lodged a proposed class action in Massachusetts federal court against Suno Inc., accusing the AI music generator company of extracting and exploiting musicians' identifying attributes much like a collective of identity-erasing cybernetic aliens from the Star Trek franchise.

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Teachers Union Wants In On CDL Data Fight

By Katherine Smith

The American Federation of Teachers is seeking to enter a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's bid to obtain a database containing information on 17 million commercial driver's license holders, telling a Virginia federal court Tuesday that the 24 states bringing the suit don't adequately represent the interests of the union.

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PepsiCo Sued Over 'Made With Avocado Oil' Chip Claims

By Gina Kim

PepsiCo misleads customers into believing its Tostitos and Siete chips exclusively contain avocado oil, alleges a proposed class action filed Monday in New York federal court, referencing a recent UC Davis study that revealed the chips exhibited chemical profiles consistent with dilution of other oils.

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Utz Sued Over Alleged Avocado Oil Chip Labeling Deception

By Celeste Bott

A putative class action filed Monday in Illinois federal court accuses Utz Brands of falsely marketing Boulder Canyon chips as cooked solely in avocado oil when scientific testing allegedly found the products contained other, cheaper vegetable oils.

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Brief

Barnes & Thornburg Says Ex-NBA Star Owes $1M Legal Fees

By Jonathan Capriel

Former NBA player Luol Deng is being sued for more than $1 million by a Chicago-based law firm that claims he failed to pay legal fees connected to two real estate matters, according to a suit filed in Illinois state court.

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Brief

HP Beats Printer Customers' Ink Cartridge Antitrust Fight

By Lauraann Wood

HP Inc. customers seeking to hold the printer-maker liable for preventing them from using third-party ink cartridges in their machines have still not pled consumer fraud or antitrust claims viable enough to proceed, an Illinois federal judge said Tuesday.

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Brief

Instant Brands Judge Stops Delaware Suit Against Trustee

By Alex Wittenberg

A Texas bankruptcy judge on Tuesday told former Instant Brands owner Cornell Capital it must get his permission before suing the Instant Pot maker's litigation trustee, blocking a suit Cornell brought in Delaware Chancery Court in July.

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7th Circ. Backs Removal Order Over Neglect Conviction

By Britain Eakin

The Seventh Circuit on Tuesday refused to halt a Mexican women's removal order, ruling that her 2012 Wisconsin state misdemeanor conviction for neglecting a child is a deportable offense that makes her ineligible for cancellation of removal.

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Ares, Scion Buy Student Housing Portfolio For $435M

By Nate Beck

Student housing owner The Scion Group and an Ares Management affiliate on Tuesday announced an acquisition of a 2,316-bed student housing portfolio from developer and owner Schenk for $435 million.

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Thomson Reuters Cyberattack Hits North American Courts

By Bonnie Eslinger

A recent cyberattack on Thomson Reuters' court management software affected files associated with court systems in 11 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada, and may have exposed sealed documents and individuals' personal information, according to a Wednesday announcement from the technology and information services company.

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Calif. Bill Regulating Atty AI Use Heads To Newsom's Desk

By Emily Sawicki

A bill regulating attorneys' and arbitrators' use of generative artificial intelligence has unanimously passed the California State Legislature and is headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk.

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'Astonished' Homebuyer Says Atty Email Lapse Caused Hack

By Pete Brush

A New York City law firm has been ordered to provide internet security and login information to a homebuyer who claims she was left in "shock" when an impostor with access to her lawyer's email tricked her into wiring away over $730,000.

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House Rejects Amendment To Fix Court At 9 Justices

By Courtney Bublé

The House failed to pass a proposed constitutional amendment on Wednesday that would keep the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices at nine.

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Dems Call Subpoenas' Secrecy Request 'Abuse Of Authority'

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

Democratic lawmakers Sen. Ron Wyden, Ore., and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Wash., have called for an investigation into subpoenas issued from federal law enforcement to private companies that contain nondisclosure provisions and carry threats of legal consequences for noncompliance.

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Tyson's Price-Fixing Deal Merits $27.5M Atty Fees, Buyers Say

By Dorothy Atkins

Beef direct purchasers asked a Minnesota federal judge Tuesday to award class counsel $27.5 million in fees, or one-third of Tyson's $82.5 million price-fixing settlement, arguing that the deal was reached after six years of hard-fought antitrust litigation and adds to another settlement, bringing the total recovery to $135 million.

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JPMorgan Seeks Stay Of $20M Javice, Amar Fee Order

By Jarek Rutz

JPMorgan Chase & Co. urged the Delaware Chancery Court on Wednesday to pause enforcement of an order requiring it to advance more than $20 million in disputed legal fees to convicted Frank founder Charlie Javice and former executive Olivier Amar, arguing the bank could permanently lose the money before it gets a chance to challenge the ruling.

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ABA Outlines Attys' Duties To Clients With Intellectual Limits

By Jack Karp

Attorneys have the same obligations to clients with decision-making limitations, should abide by those clients' decisions regarding their representation and must work to maintain an ordinary client-lawyer relationship as much as possible, the American Bar Association said in an opinion released Wednesday.

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